India should introduce a Right to Repair law designed around its own repair ecosystem, with a repair index shown on every product, says Suresh Velusamy, Co-Founder and CEO of EDIO.

Laws in the USA and Europe require manufacturers to provide repair manuals, keep spare parts available for a number of years and share diagnostic tools. Velusamy calls this a win for consumers and the environment, but says copying the model directly would miss how repair works in India.

Built for independent technicians

Most repairs in India happen in independent workshops run by skilled technicians who are not officially authorised by brands. A law that simply copies other countries risks excluding the people who keep the industry alive. Velusamy wants it to prioritise access for skilled technicians, keep spare parts affordable and make manuals and schematics available in regional languages.

A score on the box

He proposes a repair index that goes beyond existing European scores, covering the availability and cost of spare parts, access to manuals in several languages, whether trained technicians are nearby, and how recyclable the parts are.

“We don’t just need a Right to Repair law. We need a Right to Repair, done right”